Full House Book Cafe

Full House Book Cafe

Full House is a stylish bookstore and cafe run by the critically-acclaimed novelist Yu Miri. It is located near the JR Odaka Station in Minamisoma City, in the coastal area of Fukushima prefecture.

Full House is located on the ground floor of a refurbished house. The interior is wooden and elegant, and there is a selection of books in Japanese chosen by the author. The cafe serves meals like pasta and doria, as well as desserts and drinks with seasonal options.

Yu Miri is famously known for her novel Tokyo Ueno Station (translated into English by Morgan Giles), which won the U.S. National Book Award in the Translated Literature category in 2019.

Following 3.11, Ms. Miri has worked extensively to communicate the stories of residents of evacuated towns and villages in Fukushima’s coastal area, and has been living in Minamisoma City since 2015.

When Ms. Miri moved to Minamisoma, there were no other bookstores open in the area —the few bookstores that had been there before 3.11 had closed following the evacuation—, so she decided to open her own in 2018, and named it ‘Full House’ after one of her novels.

But something was missing. She quickly realized that people who traveled all the way to visit the store wanted to sit down with a warm drink, and there weren’t many restaurants or cafes nearby yet, so she decided to turn Full House into a book cafe the following year.

Today, Full House is a lively and cozy hub where locals and visitors can bond over their love of coffee and literature.

Venue Details

Venue Details
Websitehttps://odaka-fullhouse.jp/fullhouse/
Contact

https://odaka-fullhouse.jp/contact/

Best SeasonAll Year
Opening Hours

Tuesday to Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (Last order at the cafe is at 4:30 p.m.)

Closed: Sundays and Mondays

ParkingNot available (there is a parking space in front of JR Odaka Station, located 220 m away)
Access Details
Access1-10 Higashimachi, Odaka, Minamisoma City, Fukushima Pref. 979-2121
View directions
Getting there

By Public Transportation: 3 min. walk from JR Odaka Station (JR Joban Line)

By Car: 22 min from the Minamisoma I.C. exit (Joban Expressway)

Nearby

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Nakakamado Maple Tree

Nakakamado is a very uniquely-shaped maple tree. This incredible tree – designated as a Natural Monument – looks like an open umbrella, and has 3 m of roots that protrude out of the ground. If visiting during autumn-leaf season, it’s best to plan your trip for mid to late-November. That being said, Nakakamado can be enjoyed through each of the four seasons – visitors can appreciate the fresh green leaves that cover it in spring, and the very unusual shape of the branches after the autumn leaves fall.  
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Hozoji Temple

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